ABSTRACT
We have established that our students initially need our support while learning to
tap into their experiences and to find significance in their memories. And through
this focused support we expect that they will soon develop independent strategies
for topic selection. Children need to know that they don’t have to have been to Dis-
neyland at the weekend to give them something to write about. All of our waking
hours give us raw experience, often repeated in routines, but, nonetheless, a valu-
able part of our valuable lives. As we need to give them that support, it is useful to
be able to draw on common experiences, and these are times when specific teach-
ing can be put to a whole class.
